On May 19th, 2018 the exhibit “County of Heroes” opened to the public at our Albert County Museum. The event was well received and was covered by media outlets.

About a month later I received a call from a very pleasant lady from Ontario informing me that she was a descendant of Pte. Joyce. She went on to tell me she saw a television report about the County of Heroes and realized that she had some personal belongings of Pte. Joyce that she received from her great uncle. She graciously donated them to the museum and I received them a few weeks later.

As I was examining the many letters and artifacts, I came upon a very touching letter from Joyce’s commanding officer informing her of how her son died in battle on August 28, 1918. I almost fell off my chair when I realized that the 100th anniversary of Harold George Joyce paying the ultimate sacrifice for his country was only a few days away. So I issued a press release and, in a very short period of time, received a call from CBC television and radio. The CBC did a very nice tribute to a Pte. Joyce and treated the story with the compassion and dignity of the return, if only of possessions, of a native of New Brunswick and a son of Albert County.

But Harold’s story continues. Last week I received a visit from 10 of Harold Joyce’s decedents who live throughout the province. All converging unannounced to observe first hand the memorabilia that was now in the museum’s possession. I was honoured to unveil the artifacts and it was a very heartfelt emotional time when I read the letter that Harold’s mother received over 100 years ago. They all received a tour of the County of Heroes exhibit and they were very thankful that the Albert County Historical Society took on the challenge of building such a memorial to the fallen sons of Albert County. The only part that was of concern was the picture we have of Harold; that it is not of very good quality. I explained that during the days leading up to the opening of the exhibit, we were missing 6 pictures. Pte. Joyce being one of them. And how, on the day before we opened to the public, we found the picture that is on display, by chance, on the internet. Mrs. Carol Plume of Petitcodiac made the comment “We’ll have to do something about that.”

So yesterday I received a package in the mail, with Mrs. Plume’s return address on it. And sure enough, as I opened it Pte. Harold George Joyce jumped out to see me again. Once again I was privileged to look through pictures, his battalion badges and even a small arms ammunition belt. And two proud pictures, one as a civilian and one in full military dress with rifle. And again, I was thankful for the sacrifice of Pte. Joyce and all who fell with him over 100 years ago. Even more, I’m amazed at the the kindness of strangers and the in awe of the close ties of Harold’s family. And, of course, bewildered that Pte. Harold George Joyce, who was killed in action just over 100 years ago; Pte. Joyce who has no official burial site in France; that somehow, Harold Joyce has returned to his home in Hopewell Cape, NB.

At the first Conservative Party Convention11 October 1927Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada decided to hold a national party convention on October 11, 1927, to choose a new leader and set a new party platform. This would be the first time the Conservatives would hold such a convention.

The Conservative convention was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and there were six candidates at the start. R.B. was one of them. It took two ballots to declare a winner, who needed to receive a majority of the votes. R.B. was that winner. After the results of the second ballot were read, each of the other candidates made their way to the microphone to officially withdraw from the race in the old tradition of making the vote unanimous. Besides selecting a leader, the party also reshaped the planks of its platform and adopted twenty-two resolutions marking the change perceived in the political landscape.

As the leader of the federal Conservative party, R.B. was also now the leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the House of Commons. He had a huge job ahead of him. He set out to rebuild the party into an efficient political machine that could lead the country.

We have recently uncovered what maybe the earliest photo of the First World War Trophy Cannons located in Hopewell Cape. This cannon was captured at the Battle of Vimy Ridge - April 9, 1917 by Canadian Forces. On April 11, 1917 this cannon was turned on the enemy by the Royal Field Artillery. In the fall of 1919 this cannon was awarded to the people of Albert County for raising the highest percentage of money over their set goal for any area in the province during the Victory Loans Campaign of 1919. Their set goal was $110,000.00, and the people of Albert County raised $347,600.00. Three times the goal! (In today's dollars that is equivalent to $6.2 million. Not bad for a population of 8700 people!) The cannon arrived in Hopewell Cape on March 4, 1920 by train to Cape Station, and then by horse to Cape Square.

In the photo is Sheriff Ernest W. Lynds, and you can prominently see the plaque on the top left of the cannon stating how the cannon arrived in Albert County.

On June 11, 2016 from 10am until 4pm we are hosting a New Brunswick Battalions of the Great War Event, where we are bringing together collectors, museums and individuals to share Memories and Memorabilia of the First World War. If you have one piece or a whole collection of items from any of the New Brunswick Battalions and Batteries we encourage you to come out. Please share this with anyone who might be interested. Admission is a free-will donation to the Victory Cannon Campaign, which is restoring two WW1 German cannons that sit in the square in Hopewell Cape, NB. This event will be held in the Community Hall at the Albert County Museum, in Hopewell Cape, NB.

We are very pleased to introduce our 2016 fundraising effort for theVictory Cannon Campaign. Our goal is to raise the remaining $5000.00 of the total goal of $15,000.00. The Victory Cannon Campaign is raising funds to restore the First World War cannons located in the Square in Hopewell Cape. The two cannons were captured by Canadians during the First World War and awarded to the people of Albert County. The large cannon was won in the Victory Loans Campaign of 1919, for raising the greatest percentage over our set goal. The second cannon was awarded for Albert County having the largest number of men per capita enlist in the CEF in Canada.

We were fortunate to have noted local artist, Norm Bradford agree to paint an original painting depicting our cannons, which we will be raffling off. Tickets will be $10.00 each with a limit of 600 tickets sold, and will go on sale Opening Day at the Museum (May 21), with sales continuing until all are sold or the draw date at our at our Annual General Meeting in October. The odds of winning are fantastic! (1 in 600 if all the tickets sell).

Here is Norm's amazing painting, and below it are his comments on it. Please be generous and buy tickets!

The Spoils of War

As an artist who needs to convey a message and emotion through his art, I had to take my time to study how we got to have these cannons, why they’re here in Hopewell Cape Museum and how much it cost us. I was overwhelmed by the cost and the bravery of our local boys who captured these cannons. Below is a description of some of the symbolism in my creation. It took me a long time to plan this painting. I took lots of pictures, visits and composition planning to bring this painting to fruition.

The Cannons: As a realist, the cannons are recognizable, detailed and are central to this work. They are angled in such a way that your eye is drawn to the ghostly young WW1 soldier leaning on a strong maple tree, blowing taps in recognition of the of brave Albert County boys who gave their lives in the First World War, where these German Cannons were captured. The cannons were given to Albert County by Canada in recognition of those who fought, and from the 1919 Victory Loans Campaign.

The ghost: The young man is depicted as half ghost and half solid. He casts a shadow and the light reflects off his clothing. His uniform is what he would have worn at the time of the capture of these cannons. He is gone, but he is still here “lest we forget” the cost in human lives it took to have these “spoils”. He is standing straight and proud against a straight and proud maple tree (a symbolism for Canada).

The dramatic sky: The dark purple, threatening, ominous clouds of war are broken by a ray of hope lighting up the landscape and separating the foreground from the darker background. This ray in a small patch of blue sky signifies victory, hope, pride, freedom, and a brighter future thanks to our young men’s sacrificed and triumph. This light is of utmost importance in this painting. This sky was captured in a picture taken by Doran Milton recently just after a terrible downpour that flooded roads and fields. The light that it cast on the foreground (cows) helped me bring this whole painting together. It was central to bringing the emotion, the drama and the story together.

The background: Although the background is dark and treed, the buildings of the shire are recognizable although not to scale, not in the proper disposition. This an artist can do and no photographer can. The buildings have the light of the illusive sun also separating them from the dark green background. Bennett’s monument and plaques are also in view and centrally located.

The red poppies: although, there are no poppies in reality, they are in the painting to again remind the visitors that these cannons were not easy spoil, but won by many sacrifices.

Our Wheelwright has been busy over the winter months working on the set of wheels for the large cannon that Albert County won in the Victory Loans Competition of 1919. The K14 105mm was captured by Canadians at the Battle of Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, and was awarded to Albert County in 1919 for raising the greatest percentage over their set goal of $110,000.00 anywhere in the province. Albert County raised a total of $347,600.00, tripling their goal and this was with a population just shy of 9000 people. To bring this into perspective in today's dollars this would be $6.2 million!

In case you haven't heard, the Gregg Centre from UNB along with the Provincial Archives is putting on a presentation called Sharing Our History, New Brunswickers and the World Wars this Saturday, March 19 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm at Resurgo Place in Moncton. Bring your artefacts - letters, diaries, photos - for show and tell and learn more about how your history fits within the greater New Brunswick and Canadian story!

One Hundred years ago, Hugh C. Wright from Shepody, Albert County, NB was busy fighting with the 26th New Brunswick battalion in trenches of Belgium. He was only 20 years old at the time. This was one of his letters home and was written December 9 & 10, 1915.

A note on the Author - Hugh Carlisle Wright, from Hopewell,(Shepody), Albert County, NB, enlisted in the 26th Battalion on November 17, 1914. He was 19 years of age. He was in A Company, No. 1 Platoon while training in Saint John. He served in the 26th Battalion, 5th Infantry Brigade in Belgium and France and spent 17 months in the trenches. In February 1917, he transferred to the 4th Siege Battery, 2nd Brigade CGA and was a gunner for the remainder of the war. He was discharged in May 10, 1919...on his birthday!

Hugh's letters are addressed … “Dear Father” because his mother died when he was only 7 years old. Harvey and Clarke were Hugh's older brothers. His brother Clarke enlisted in October 1915, arriving in England with CEF April 1916. Harvey didn't enlist but stayed home to run the family farm in Shepody.

It's amazing to have the original envelope for the letter (scroll through the pictures) which shows the letter probably left Belgium on the 11 and arrived in Riverside on the 28th of December only 17 days...

With many thanks to Hugh Wright's great niece, Dawne McLean who kindly submitted the letter.

BelgiumDec. 9Th, 1915

Dear Father,

I received your letter of the 14th November day before yesterday and was very glad to get it. I got the parcels from home including the shoe pacts that day also. So you see they were not that long coming. They are fine, couldn’t have been a better fit. They are a nice easy thing on the feet and a good thing to walk in. I am wearing two pair of socks in them now, but I think I will be able to put another pair in later when they get stretched a little. I don’t know what better Christmas present a person could want than these.We changed our billet when we came out this time, so now we are staying in a large school house and it makes very comfortable quarters. We are right in a little town. Silas got his foot burned by a rubber sheet which caught on fire and melted and ran down onto his foot, so he is laid up somewhere and I have never been able to find where he is so have not seen him for some time, but I guess he is not hurt very bad. I have not seen Clyde for nearly three weeks, but I guess he is alright. The rest of us are fine.You spoke about being troubled to get to sleep, it is not that way with me. I can sleep most any place that I get a chance to now.I don’t think I will want anything for a while anyway. I had a few lines from Harvey and he said a lot of people were sending me stuff. I got a nice big cake from Bertha the same day I got the shoe pacts and I also got Hillman’s little cake. It was rather hard, but nevertheless tasted good. He must be getting to be a great boy. I would like to see him. I thought the picture was fine of you both.I haven’t seen Allie for some time, but will ask him about John Stiles if ever I see him.Silas said that the 8th Battery was only six miles away from us, so I thought maybe he would ride over some time but he never has, but maybe he will over Christmas time, if they are still there and we are still here.That was quite a bunch of moose to come out of the woods all at once. I would like to have had a nice big slice of the steak.I suppose by the time this reaches you Xmas will be all over. I don’t know hardly where I will spend Xmas Day, whether it will be in the trenches or out at the billet but I will try to have a good time wherever I am.I guess I will have to close now as I must write to Clarke and Bertha.I wish to be remembered to all the Friends

Good nightHugh

Dec. 10thP.S. I received your letter of the 21st today, also one from Bertha and one from Bessie telling me that Fred was dead. I suppose he is better off for he must have suffered a good deal.I also got a nice long letter from Bessie Starratt.

If you were driving through Hopewell Cape this Thursday, you would have seen the sparks flying around the large German First World War Cannon as repairs were made to its metal work. The almost 100 years sitting in the square in Hopewell Cape were not the kindest to the large cannon, with considerable rust and corrosion around the base of the cannon where it rests on the concrete pillar.

Thankfully we have local expertise to take care of that, Todd Steeves of TP Downey & Sons (Hillsborough) was able to come to the museum and make the necessary repairs without having to move the cannon. It is fantastic that we were able to find someone local with the skills and equipment necessary to do the job right so that it lasts another 100 years.

Todd replaced the center brace and carriage bolts, the 2 brackets above center brace, and fixed the holes on side of cannon facing the road. When asked how the work went, Todd said, "The metal is a bit soft but with proper paint the metal should last another hundred years."

The large 10.5 Cm K14 German Cannon was captured at Vimy Ridge, April 9, 1917, and was won by the Citizens of Albert County during the Victory Loans Campaign of 1919 for raising the greatest percentage of monies over their set goal. They raised $347,000.00 tripling their goal of $110,000.00. Pretty impressive for a county of less than 10000 people!

Did I say PARADE? This Saturday (June 13) at the Albert County Museum featuring the Royal New Brunswick Regiment, the RCMP Pipes and Drums, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 32, the Riverview Veteran's Association, the 560 Moncton Army Cadets and others; in a COLOUR PARADE - Commemorating the Sailing of the 26th New Brunswick Battalion 100 Years-to-the-Day, June 13, 1915. The events begin at 2:00 pm with a General Call to Assembly, followed by presentations on the 26th New Brunswick Battalion, known as the Fighting 26th and continues until the highlight of the day, the Colour Parade at 4:15 pm (sharp).

This Saturday, June 13, 2015 we're commemorating the Sailing of the 26th New Brunswick Battalion, 100 years to the day they left for the battlefields of Europe on June 13, 1915. On that day 1148 men set sail, comprised of 42 officers and 1106 other ranks, many would not return, and those that did were forever changed.

When the battalion returned home at the end of the war, only 4 officers of the original 42 and 113 of the original 1106 other ranks were still with the battalion, the others being killed, wounded or transferred to other battalions. Over all about 6,000 men served with the 26th Battalion over the course of the war.

It should be noted that the first member of the battalion to die was Lance Corporal George McKee of Fredericton. He died of pneumonia on April 21, 1915 and was buried in the Fredericton Rural Cemetery with full military honours. He was also the first resident of Fredericton to die on active service.

The first member of the battalion to die in action was Private Moses Gallant from PEI. He was killed on September 28, 1915 during the 26th’s first tour in the trenches near Ypres in Belgium. The first officer from the battalion to die in action was Lieutenant Charles M. Lawson, who was a teacher at Saint John High School before the war. On November 26, 1915 he died of his wounds received during a patrol in No Man’s Land.

Lieutenant Colonel A.E.G. McKenzie, the commanding officer of the battalion, was killed in action on August 28, 1918. The battalion losses on that day were 57 men killed and 199 wounded. The worst single day of the war for the 26th was September 15, 1916 when they lost 325 all ranks (killed, wounded and missing) helping to capture the village of Courcelette on the Somme.

The 26th Battalion never lost a battle the entire war.

What follows is a condensed history of the "26th New Brunswick Battalion 1914-1919":

October 25th 1914 Lt. Col. J.L. McAvity received word to recruit a Battalion for the Expeditionary Force to be known as the 26th.

November 1914 Recruiting carried on throughout the Province, Battalion well over strength.

December 1914 Battalion Billeted in Armouries, Saint John.

June 1915 Training carried on intensively.

June 13th, 1915 Battalion Sailed from Saint John on Anchor Line Caledonia.

June 24th, 1915 Landed at Davenport, England, proceeded by train to East Sandling in the Shorncliffe Area.

June to Sept. 13, 1915 Intensive training in England.

Sept. 13th, 1915 Advance Party of Battalion left for France including the Transport.

May 17th, 1919 Landed in Halifax, Moved by train to Saint John, great reception.

May 17th, 19th, 1919 Demobilization.

This Saturday, we are honouring the men of the 26th Battalion with a Colour Parade, on June 12, 1915 in front of cheering crowds in excess of 20,000 people, the 26th Battalion marched from the Armoury in Saint John to the Harbour. In the early morning hours on June 13, 1915, the 26th Battalion boarded the troop ship, “Caledonia” and sailed for England.

In commemoration of this historic event, the Royal New Brunswick Regiment will parade in full dress uniforms, along with the RCMP Pipes and Drums Band and local cadet groups (the 560 Moncton Army Cadets). The parade will be inspected by Brigadier General Peter Atkinson (retired). BGen. Atkinson served with the Canadian Forces for over 35 years, and still has strong ties to Albert County. This parade has special meaning for the Royal New Brunswick Regiment for they are the living embodiment of the 26th Battalion and hold their battle honours, which are extensive.

They say there is nothing stronger than the bonds formed on the battlefield, and the men of the 26th Battalion, who were in the thick of every major battle the Canadian Corps faced in the First World War, kept true to theirs for the rest of their lives. The veterans of the 26th Battalion organized the 26th Battalion Overseas Club after the war and held their first reunion ten years later in 1928. They continued to hold them every June 13th, commemorating the day the Battalion sailed for war from Saint John (for at least another 40 years).

We have found two programs from these dinners: one from 1960 (the 45th year since the sailing) and the other from 1966 (the 51st year since the sailing). Both programs follow the traditions of the 26th Battalion and standard military protocol, with the prescribed singing of anthems, the prerequisite toasts and responses and the remembering of those lost to time. The menus included in the programs are similar and both ended with the S.R.D. (Seldom Reaches Destination). What is an S.R.D.? To find out you will have to attend the Commemoration Dinner on Friday, June 12 at 6pm.

Our dinner, inspired by the 1960 45th Anniversary will be following the 1960 menu and program almost to the letter. It will give you a taste of what the men of the 26th Battalion experienced 55 years ago, along with a few additions that will liven up the evening. The Banquet is also a fund-raiser for the Victory Cannon Campaign, which will help restore the two captured German First World War cannons that sit in the square in Hopewell Cape.

Be sure to grab your tickets early as they are going fast, and seating is limited. It is a great chance to experience a unique dinner and program honouring an important historical event.

PS Tickets are $25.00 each and can be purchased by calling the museum 506-734-2003

It was 98 years ago today, (April 9, 1917) that the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) fought the Battle of Vimy Ridge. It was the first time the Canadian Corp fought together as a single unit and achieved the first Allied Victory of the War. It was also the day the 27th Battalion captured the K14 10.5cm Cannon that sits in Hopewell Cape Square, which the people of Albert County won in the 1919 Victory Loans Competition for raising the greatest percentage over their target anywhere in New Brunswick. The County raised almost 3 times their goal of $110,000.00 with a realized sum of $317,000.00 (6.92 million in today's dollars).

So today while we pause and remember the sacrifices of the Canadians on that day almost 100 years ago, it's fitting to give an update on our own campaign to restore their captured trophy. The Victory Cannon Campaign has raised $4704.40 to date of a goal of $15000.00, we are within arms reach of 1/3 of our goal. So please donate. CLICK TO DONATE

The cannon wheels are in the process of being restored, our Wheelwright Mike Hartigan has been kind enough to send some photos of his progress.

Old spokes on new oak blanks, this is where we set the pattern for all the other spokes. One of the hubs and some felloe sockets are in the background.

Roughing out a spoke on the bandsaw removing excess wood.

Marking out the rough cuts for the cheeks on the hub end of the spoke.

Rough cut spokes laid out in front of their intended new home.

Practice spoke blank mounted on the lathe.

Rough turned spoke ready for finishing. Each of the 24 required spokes will be individually shaped by hand using a spoke shave.